People often misunderstand Virat Kohli's aggression: Umesh Yadav

Virat Kohli and Umesh Yadav

Indian pacer Umesh Yadav said that captain Virat Kohli is a thinking cricketer and that his aggression was of the controlled variety. The 28-year-old Vidarbha quick is one of Kohli’s first choice bowlers for the ongoing Test match against Bangladesh.

Yadav praised Kohli’s nature of putting the team’s interest ahead of everything else.

“I am very comfortable with Virat. He always asks me about my plan and if that doesn't work he tells his plans. He always advises us to bring aggression into our bowling. Aggression doesn't mean bowling only fast. It's about bowling in the right areas.

“He also tells everyone needs to show fighting spirit on the ground. If our opponents are going after one particular player, we all should stand by him. It's the team first.”

Dhoni’s contribution to Indian cricket immense: Yadav

Yadav started his international career in 2010 in an ODI against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo but played only 12 Tests and 48 ODIs for India in the last 5 years – a career too frequently punctuated with injury breaks.

On asked about the differences between MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli’s captaincy, Yadav said, “Both are different characters. Dhoni bhai's contribution to Indian cricket is immense. He has given youngsters good opportunities to establish themselves.

“Virat too thinks on same the line. He always stands by his teammates. While calmness works for Dhoni Bhai, aggression works for Virat. But again people misunderstand his aggression. I have always seen controlled aggression in Virat. He is a very thinking cricketer. Both have a different approaches to deal with the situation.”

Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar was credited by the Vidarbha quick for having an influence on his bowling; Akhtar had told him that with his kind of pace, batsmen would be scared of him.

He said, “It was during the West Indies and Sri Lanka ODI series last year when he was here as a commentator. He is a very jolly person and I enjoyed the conversation. We talked about the pace. Again it was more of a mental thing.”

Last week, former West Indies bowler Andy Roberts said that Yadav is only genuine fast bowler India has produced. Former Australian Pacer great Glenn McGrath also praised Yadav for his speed and said that India is lucky to have Yadav and Varun Aaron.